Clothesbrush



0 M. SWETLITZ 3,

CLOTHESBRUSH Filed May 22, 1968 2 Sheets-Shet 1 WITNESSES v R W Myron Swetlitz United States Patent US. Cl. 15-23 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A battery-operated clothesbrush which is compact and lightweight thereby lending itself to being conveniently used and which comprises a motor, brush, battery and switch spatially arranged within a casing to provide an optimum dirt and lint collecting area within the casing. The subject device is further characterized by the provision of a sidewardly opening clean-out door which simultaneously provides access to the dirt collecting chamber and to the brush for cleaning thereof. To minimize the total number of parts required and number of operations required for fabricating the subject clothesbrush, one of the bearings for the brush is mounted on the sidewardly opening door which door is captivated between two housing sections forming the casing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to battery operated appliances and, more particularly, to a compact, lightweight clothesbrush for removing lint and dirt from articles of clothing or other surfaces.

While the concept of a compact, lightweight, batteryoperated clothesbrush is not new, such devices have not gained wholehearted acceptance by the consumer. One such construction comprises a casing having disposed therein a motor, rechargeable battery, a switch for connecting the battery to the motor and a brush and associated bearing supports. All of these elements contained in the casing are disposed in a predetermined relationship and provide a dirt or lint collecting chamber therebetween which chamber is accessible through a clean-out door adjacent thereto. The clean-out door is readily removable and, therefore, subject to being misplaced when the lint collecting chamber is cleaned. Furthermore, the door provides access to only the lint collecting chamber and not to the brush, removal of which, for cleaning, requires a separate operation. Consequently, maintenance of such a device is not as convenient as it could be.

It is highly desirable to have as large a dirt collecting chamber as possible with given overall casing dimensions. Optimum space can be obtained through selective sizing and positioning of the components within the casing and by selecting various configurations for the casing itself. The foregoing has not been accomplished in prior art devices.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a new and improved compact, lightweight, batteryoperated clothesbrush.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a compact clothesbrush having a clean-out door which provides simultaneous access to both the lint collecting compartment and the brush.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved clothesbrush wherein the operative components are so arranged and the casing is so constructed as to provide an optimum size lint collecting compartment for a given set of overall dimensions.

3,543,320 Patented Dec. 1, 1970 Briefly, the above-cited objects are accomplished by providing a compact, lightweight, battery-operated clothesbrush with a casing having a head portion constituting approximately one-half of the casing, which head portion is angulated relative to the rest of the casing such that when the device is held in the hand a brush contained in the head portion may be conveniently directed toward the clothes of the user.

The battery, motor and brush and drive mechanism interconnecting the motor and the brush are all disposed substantially to one side of the casing opposite a sidewardly opening clean-out door. This arrangement prevents interference with the working components during utilization of the clean-out door and also, provides the maximum usable space for a lint collecting compartment. The sidewardly opening door is captivated between two half sections of the casing to thereby prevent misplacing thereof. Further, the door supports a bearing for one end of the brush which is accessible through the clean-out door simultaneously with access to the lint collecting chamber.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in view of the following detailed description and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery-operated clothesbrush and charging base therefor;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view in section showing the components of the battery powered clothesbrush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the clothesbrush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the clothesbrush shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines VI-VI of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, especially FIG. 1, reference character 10 designates generally a battery-operated clothesbrush having a housing consisting of sections 8 and 9 and comprising front, rear, top, bottom and side walls 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 respectively.

The housing section 8 may be regarded as a base member on which all of the components of the clothesbrush are mounted to facilitate assembly of the device. The section 9 forms a cover which is secured to the base portion 8 by a plurality of screws 18 (two of which are shown in FIG. 6). A rotatable brush 19 is supported adjacent the top wall 13 by means of bearings 21 and 22. The top wall 13, which is an extension of the front wall 11, is provided with an elongated opening 23 (see FIG. 6) into which the brush 19 extends thereby enabling contact of the brush with a surface being cleaned.

Clockwise rotation of the brush 19, as viewed in FIG. 6, effects transfer of lint and dirt from an article of clothing to a lint and dirt collecting chamber 24. Channeling of the lint and dirt to the chamber 24 is accomplished by a pair of battles 26 and 27, the former of which constitutes a component of a brush housing 28. The chamber 24, as can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 6, is delineated by the baffle 27, front wall 11, rear wall 12, side wall 16 and an upstanding rib member 30. The side wall 16 is provided with a door structure 29 which provides entry to the chamber 24 for cleaning thereof and also provides access to the 3 brush 19 for removal and cleaning thereof. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the brush bearing 22 is carried by a bearing support 31 which is molded integrally with the door structure 29.

The door structure 29, made from any suitable material, for example, plastic, comprises a chamber closure portion 32 which is connected to a door anchoring member 33 by a living hinge 34. The hinge 34 allows movement of the closure portion 32 completely out of the Way when cleaning the chamber 24 or removing the brush 29. The anchoring member 33, as shown in FIG. 6, has a central portion 36 bounded by a pair of wing segments 37 having reduced area. The wing segments 3-7, insertable in slots 38 and 39 provided, respectively, in housing sections 8 and 9, are captured therebetween once the housing sections are secured together, as shown in FIG. 6. To hold the door structure 29 in the closed position it is provided with a pair of integrally molded catch members 41 (only one being shown) having sufiiciently resiliency to be cammed, under closing pressure, into locking engagement with cooperating latch means 42 carried by rib structure 43 molded integrally with the housing. Sufiicient opening pressure on the door structure 29 causes the resilient catch members 41 to also be cammed out of engagement with latch means 42 permitting opening the door structure to expose the chamber 24 and brush 29.

A small DC. motor 44 having a pinion 46 fitted to the the output shaft thereof serves to drive the brush 19 through a gear 47 integral with the bearing 21 and supported by a bracket 45 attached to the motor casing. Power for the motor 44 is supplied by means of a 1% volt D.C. rechargeable battery 48 which is operatively connected to the motor 44 via conductors 49 and 50 and a switch 51. The switch 51 is adapted to be actuated by engagement thereof with the battery 48, by a switch actuating button 52 which as, viewed in FIGS. 2 and 5, is slidable upwardly and downwardly.

The battery 48 is operatively attached by suitable con ductors to a pair of charging contacts 53 and 54 which extend through apertures 55 and 56 provided in a wall 57 of a recessed area 58. The recessed area 58, along with the wall 57 is delineated by walls 59, 60 and 61, the area 58 being accessible through an opening 62 in the bottom Wall 14. The contacts 53 and 54 are captivated in transverse slots 63 and 64 formed by a portion of the wall 57 and a pair of rib structures 65 and 66.

As shown in FIGS. 1, and 6 the top portions of the housing sections 8 and 9 are angulated with respect to the lower portions thereof such that the brush containing por-' tion is canted towards the user when the device is held in the hand. It will be appreciated that such a configuration renders the device more convenient.

Since numerous changes may be made in the abovedescribed apparatus and dilferent embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A compact clothes cleaner comprising:

a hollow housing consisting of two sections fitted together,

said housing comprising top, bottom, front, rear and side walls, said top wall having an elongated opening therein,

a motor supporting in said housing,

a brush supported for rotation within said housing adjacent said opening in said top wall and having a peripheral portion projecting through said opening,

means operatively connecting said brush to said motor,

means at least partially disposed in said housing for supplying power to said motor,

a dirt collecting chamber in said housing, and

anchoring means hingedly attaching one of 'said side walls to said housing adjacent said bottom wall whereby said one of said side walls provides simultaneous access to said chamber and brush when in an open position.

2. A compact clothes cleaner comprising:

a hollow housing consisting of two sections fitted together,

said housing comprising top, bottom, front, rear and side walls, said top wall having an elongated opening therein,

a motor supported in said housing,

a brush supported for rotation within said housing adjacent said opening in said top wall and having a peripheral portion projecting through said opening,

means operatively connecting said brush to said motor,

means at least partially disposed in said housing for supplying power to said motor,

a dirt collecting chamber in said housing, and

anchoring means hingedly attaching one of said side walls to said housing whereby said one of said side walls provides simultaneously access to said chamber and brush when in an open position, and

bearing structure carried by said one of said side walls, said bearing structure supporting one end of said brush when said wall is in a closed position.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 wherein,

said anchoring means comprises a central portion having opposed wing segments extending therefrom and said fitted sections have transverse recesses adjacent said bottom wall for receiving and holding said wing segments.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3 wherein,

said means for supplying power to said motor comprises a rechargeable battery.

5. Structure as specified in claim 4 wherein,

said battery and motor are adjacent the other of said side walls and one end of said chamber is adjacent said one of said side walls.

6. Structure as specified in claim 1 in which said one of said walls and said anchoring means are integrally connected through a living hinge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner 

